Traffic aware regular buffer status reports

ABSTRACT

Wireless communications techniques related to buffer status reports (BSRs) are provided. In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: determining a buffer status report (BSR) condition is present based on a condition of an application; determining an uplink grant is not available for the UE to transmit data, related to the application, in a buffer of the UE within a period of time; removing the data from the buffer; resubmitting, to the buffer, at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer; and transmitting, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at least in part on the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer. Other aspects and features are also claimed and described.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/198,238, filed Oct. 5, 2020, the entiretyof which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technology described below relates generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, to buffer status report(BSR) techniques.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wirelessmultiple-access communications system may include a number of basestations (BSs), each simultaneously supporting communications formultiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as userequipment (UE).

To meet the growing demands for expanded mobile broadband connectivity,wireless communication technologies are advancing from the long termevolution (LTE) technology to a next generation new radio (NR)technology, which may be referred to as 5^(th) Generation (5G). Forexample, NR is designed to provide a lower latency, a higher bandwidthor a higher throughput, and a higher reliability than LTE. NR isdesigned to operate over a wide array of spectrum bands, for example,from low-frequency bands below about 1 gigahertz (GHz) and mid-frequencybands from about 1 GHz to about 6 GHz, to high-frequency bands such asmillimeter wave (mmWave) bands. NR is also designed to operate acrossdifferent spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed andshared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to opportunisticallyaggregate spectrums to dynamically support high-bandwidth services.Spectrum sharing can extend the benefit of NR technologies to operatingentities that may not have access to a licensed spectrum.

NR is also designed to support dual connectivity with LTE via a splitbearer configuration. For instance, a UE may be simultaneously connectedto an NR BS and an LTE BS for uplink and/or downlink communications. Aradio bearer is a service provided by Layer 2 to transport user datapackets and/or signaling data between a UE and a network. A radio bearerthat transports user data may be referred to as a data radio bearer(DRB). A radio bearer that transports signaling data may be referred toas a signaling radio bearer (SRB). A split bearer in dual connectivityrefers to a radio bearer that transports data between a UE and a networkvia two radio interface protocols over two wireless communication links(e.g., a NR link and an LTE link).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure toprovide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summaryis not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present someconcepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a userequipment (UE) includes: determining a buffer status report (BSR)condition is present based on a condition of an application; determiningan uplink grant is not available for the UE to transmit data, related tothe application, in a buffer of the UE within a period of time; andtransmitting, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or ascheduling request (SR) based at least in part on the BSR conditionbeing present and the uplink grant not being available for the UE totransmit the data in the buffer of the UE within the period of time.

In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) comprises: a processor configuredto: determine a buffer status report (BSR) condition is present based ona condition of an application; and determine an uplink grant is notavailable for the UE to transmit data, related to the application, in abuffer of the UE within a period of time; and a transceiver incommunication with the processor, the transceiver configured to:transmit, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a schedulingrequest (SR) based at least in part on processor determining the BSRcondition is present and the uplink grant is not available for the UE totransmit the data in the buffer of the UE within the period of time.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium havingprogram code recorded thereon for wireless communication by a userequipment (UE) is provided. The program code can include: code forcausing the UE to determine a buffer status report (BSR) condition ispresent based on a condition of an application; code for causing the UEto determine an uplink grant is not available for the UE to transmitdata, related to the application, in a buffer of the UE within a periodof time; and code for causing the UE to transmit, to a base station(BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at leastin part on the BSR condition being present and the uplink grant notbeing available for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer of the UEwithin the period of time.

In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) comprises: means for determininga buffer status report (BSR) condition is present based on a conditionof an application; means for determining an uplink grant is notavailable for the UE to transmit data, related to the application, in abuffer of the UE within a period of time; and means for transmitting, toa base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR)based at least in part on the BSR condition being present and the uplinkgrant not being available for the UE to transmit the data in the bufferof the UE within the period of time.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments will become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following descriptionof specific, exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures. While features may be discussed relative to certain embodimentsand figures below, all embodiments can include one or more of theadvantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one ormore embodiments may be discussed as having certain advantageousfeatures, one or more of such features may also be used in accordancewith the various embodiments discussed herein. In similar fashion, whileexemplary embodiments may be discussed below as device, system, ormethod embodiments it should be understood that such exemplaryembodiments can be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless communication network according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating a BSR technique according tosome aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a signaling diagram illustrating a BSR technique according tosome aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating a BSR technique according tosome aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating a BSR technique according tosome aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method according tosome aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a user equipment (UE) according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary base station (BS) according tosome aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method accordingto some aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring such concepts.

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications systems,also referred to as wireless communications networks. In variousembodiments, the techniques and apparatus may be used for wirelesscommunication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA)networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA)networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, 5^(th) Generation (5G)or new radio (NR) networks, as well as other communications networks. Asdescribed herein, the terms “networks” and “systems” may be usedinterchangeably.

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and the like. UTRA, E-UTRA,and GSM are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). Inparticular, long term evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that usesE-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documentsprovided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project”(3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organizationnamed “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These variousradio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. Forexample, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is acollaboration between groups of telecommunications associations thataims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phonespecification. 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project whichwas aimed at improving the UMTS mobile phone standard. The 3GPP maydefine specifications for the next generation of mobile networks, mobilesystems, and mobile devices. The present disclosure is concerned withthe evolution of wireless technologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and beyondwith shared access to wireless spectrum between networks using acollection of new and different radio access technologies or radio airinterfaces.

5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, anddiverse services and devices that may be implemented using an OFDM-basedunified, air interface. In order to achieve these goals, furtherenhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition to developmentof the new radio technology for 5G NR networks. The 5G NR will becapable of scaling to provide coverage (1) to a massive Internet ofthings (IoTs) with a ultra-high density (e.g., ˜1M nodes/km²), ultra-lowcomplexity (e.g., ˜10 s of bits/sec), ultra-low energy (e.g., ˜10+ yearsof battery life), and deep coverage with the capability to reachchallenging locations; (2) including mission-critical control withstrong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, orclassified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ˜99.9999%reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ˜1 ms), and users with wideranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) with enhanced mobilebroadband including extreme high capacity (e.g., ˜10 Tbps/km²), extremedata rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rate, 100+ Mbps user experienced rates),and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.

A 5G NR communication system may be implemented to use optimizedOFDM-based waveforms with scalable numerology and transmission timeinterval (TTI). Additional features may also include having a common,flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services and features with adynamic, low-latency time division duplex (TDD)/frequency divisionduplex (FDD) design; and with advanced wireless technologies, such asmassive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO), robust millimeter wave(mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding, and device-centricmobility. Scalability of the numerology in 5G NR, with scaling ofsubcarrier spacing, may efficiently address operating diverse servicesacross diverse spectrum and diverse deployments. For example, in variousoutdoor and macro coverage deployments of less than 3GHz FDD/TDDimplementations, subcarrier spacing may occur with 15 kHz, for exampleover 5, 10, 20 MHz, and the like bandwidth (BW). For other variousoutdoor and small cell coverage deployments of TDD greater than 3 GHz,subcarrier spacing may occur with 30 kHz over 80/100 MHz BW. For othervarious indoor wideband implementations, using a TDD over the unlicensedportion of the 5 GHz band, the subcarrier spacing may occur with 60 kHzover a 160 MHz BW. Finally, for various deployments transmitting withmmWave components at a TDD of 28 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with120 kHz over a 500 MHz BW.

The scalable numerology of the 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI fordiverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example,shorter TTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, whilelonger TTI may be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficientmultiplexing of long and short TTIs to allow transmissions to start onsymbol boundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integratedsubframe design with UL/downlink scheduling information, data, andacknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integratedsubframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-basedshared spectrum, adaptive UL/downlink that may be flexibly configured ona per-cell basis to dynamically switch between UL and downlink to meetthe current traffic needs.

Various aspects and features of the disclosure are further describedbelow. It should be apparent that the teachings herein may be embodiedin a wide variety of forms and that any specific structure, function, orboth being disclosed herein is merely representative and not limiting.Based on the teachings herein one of an ordinary level of skill in theart should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein may be implementedindependently of any other aspects and that two or more of these aspectsmay be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, such an apparatus may be implemented orsuch a method may be practiced using other structure, functionality, orstructure and functionality in addition to or other than one or more ofthe aspects set forth herein. For example, a method may be implementedas part of a system, device, apparatus, and/or as instructions stored ona computer readable medium for execution on a processor or computer.Furthermore, an aspect may comprise at least one element of a claim.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network 100 according tosome aspects of the present disclosure. The network 100 may be a 5Gnetwork. The network 100 includes a number of base stations (BSs) 105(individually labeled as 105 a, 105 b, 105 c, 105 d, 105 e, and 105 f)and other network entities. A BS 105 may be a station that communicateswith UEs 115 and may also be referred to as an evolved node B (eNB), anext generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like. A BS 105 maybe terrestrial (e.g., attached to or part of a tower, building, vehicle,or other structure on earth) or non-terrestrial (e.g., attached to orpart of a satellite, balloon, or other device separate from earth). TheBS 105 may provide access to a terrestrial radio access technology (RAT)(e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) or a non-terrestrial RAT (e.g., asatellite-based RAT). Each BS 105 may provide communication coverage fora particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to thisparticular geographic coverage area of a BS 105 and/or a BS subsystemserving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term isused.

A BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or a smallcell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. Amacro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g.,several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEswith service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, suchas a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smaller geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptionswith the network provider. A small cell, such as a femto cell, wouldalso generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restrictedaccess by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in aclosed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like).A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a smallcell may be referred to as a small cell BS, a pico BS, a femto BS or ahome BS. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the BSs 105 d and 105 e may beregular macro BSs, while the BSs 105 a-105 c may be macro BSs enabledwith one of three dimension (3D), full dimension (FD), or massive MIMO.The BSs 105 a-105 c may take advantage of their higher dimension MIMOcapabilities to exploit 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuthbeamforming to increase coverage and capacity. The BS 105 f may be asmall cell BS which may be a home node or portable access point. A BS105 may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like)cells.

The network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. Forsynchronous operation, the BSs may have similar frame timing, andtransmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time.For asynchronous operation, the BSs may have different frame timing, andtransmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time.

The UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and eachUE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also be referred to asa terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or the like.A UE 115 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless localloop (WLL) station, or the like. In one aspect, a UE 115 may be a devicethat includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In anotheraspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. In someaspects, the UEs 115 that do not include UICCs may also be referred toas IoT devices or internet of everything (IoE) devices. The UEs 115a-115 d are examples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessingnetwork 100. A UE 115 may also be a machine specifically configured forconnected communication, including machine type communication (MTC),enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like. The UEs 115e-115 h are examples of various machines configured for communicationthat access the network 100. The UEs 115 i-115 k are examples ofvehicles equipped with wireless communication devices configured forcommunication that access the network 100. A UE 115 may include one ormore sensors (e.g., temperature sensor(s), motion sensor(s),accelerometer(s), pressure sensor(s), speed/velocity sensor(s), etc.). AUE 115 may be coupled to and/or in communication with one or moreexternal sensors (e.g., temperature sensor(s), motion sensor(s),accelerometer(s), pressure sensor(s), speed/velocity sensor(s), etc.).

A UE 115 may be able to communicate with any type of the BSs, whethermacro BS, small cell, or the like. Also, a UE 115 may be able tocommunicate with a terrestrial BS or a non-terrestrial BS. In FIG. 1, alightning bolt (e.g., communication links) indicates wirelesstransmissions between a UE 115 and a serving BS 105, which is a BSdesignated to serve the UE 115 on the downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL),desired transmission between BSs 105, backhaul transmissions betweenBSs, or sidelink transmissions between UEs 115.

In operation, the BSs 105 a-105 c may serve the UEs 115 a and 115 busing 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques, such ascoordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity. The macro BS 105 dmay perform backhaul communications with the BSs 105 a-105 c, as well assmall cell, the BS 105 f. The macro BS 105 d may also transmitsmulticast services which are subscribed to and received by the UEs 115 cand 115 d. Such multicast services may include mobile television orstream video, or may include other services for providing communityinformation, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber alertsor gray alerts.

The BSs 105 may also communicate with a core network. The core networkmay provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking,Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, ormobility functions. At least some of the BSs 105 (e.g., which may be anexample of a gNB or an access node controller (ANC)) may interface withthe core network through backhaul links (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and mayperform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with theUEs 115. In various examples, the BSs 105 may communicate, eitherdirectly or indirectly (e.g., through core network), with each otherover backhaul links (e.g., X1, X2, etc.), which may be wired or wirelesscommunication links.

The network 100 may also support mission critical communications withultra-reliable and redundant links for mission critical devices, such asthe UE 115 e, which may be a drone. Redundant communication links withthe UE 115 e may include links from the macro BSs 105 d and 105 e, aswell as links from the small cell BS 105 f. Other machine type devices,such as the UE 115 f (e.g., a thermometer), the UE 115 g (e.g., smartmeter), and UE 115 h (e.g., wearable device) may communicate through thenetwork 100 either directly with BSs, such as the small cell BS 105 f,and the macro BS 105 e, or in multi-step-size configurations bycommunicating with another user device which relays its information tothe network, such as the UE 115 f communicating temperature measurementinformation to the smart meter, the UE 115 g, which is then reported tothe network through the small cell BS 105 f. The network 100 may alsoprovide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latencyTDD/FDD communications, such as V2V, V2X, C-V2X communications between aUE 115 i, 115 j, or 115 k and other UEs 115, and/orvehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications between a UE 115 i, 115j, or 115 k and a BS 105.

In some implementations, the network 100 utilizes OFDM-based waveformsfor communications. An OFDM-based system may partition the system BWinto multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonlyreferred to as subcarriers, tones, bins, or the like. Each subcarriermay be modulated with data. In some instances, the subcarrier spacingbetween adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number ofsubcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system BW. The system BW mayalso be partitioned into subbands. In other instances, the subcarrierspacing and/or the duration of TTIs may be scalable.

In some aspects, the BSs 105 can assign or schedule transmissionresources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RB)) fordownlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in the network 100. DLrefers to the transmission direction from a BS 105 to a UE 115, whereasUL refers to the transmission direction from a UE 115 to a BS 105. Thecommunication can be in the form of radio frames. A radio frame may bedivided into a plurality of subframes or slots, for example, about 10.Each slot may be further divided into mini-slots. In a FDD mode,simultaneous UL and DL transmissions may occur in different frequencybands. For example, each subframe includes a UL subframe in a ULfrequency band and a DL subframe in a DL frequency band. In a TDD mode,UL and DL transmissions occur at different time periods using the samefrequency band. For example, a subset of the subframes (e.g., DLsubframes) in a radio frame may be used for DL transmissions and anothersubset of the subframes (e.g., UL subframes) in the radio frame may beused for UL transmissions.

The DL subframes and the UL subframes can be further divided intoseveral regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe may havepre-defined regions for transmissions of reference signals, controlinformation, and data. Reference signals are predetermined signals thatfacilitate the communications between the BSs 105 and the UEs 115. Forexample, a reference signal can have a particular pilot pattern orstructure, where pilot tones may span across an operational BW orfrequency band, each positioned at a pre-defined time and a pre-definedfrequency. For example, a BS 105 may transmit cell specific referencesignals (CRSs) and/or channel state information—reference signals(CSI-RSs) to enable a UE 115 to estimate a DL channel. Similarly, a UE115 may transmit sounding reference signals (SRSs) to enable a BS 105 toestimate a UL channel Control information may include resourceassignments and protocol controls. Data may include protocol data and/oroperational data. In some aspects, the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 maycommunicate using self-contained subframes. A self-contained subframemay include a portion for DL communication and a portion for ULcommunication. A self-contained subframe can be DL-centric orUL-centric. A DL-centric subframe may include a longer duration for DLcommunication than for UL communication. A UL-centric subframe mayinclude a longer duration for UL communication than for ULcommunication.

In some aspects, the network 100 may be an NR network deployed over alicensed spectrum. The BSs 105 can transmit synchronization signals(e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondarysynchronization signal (SSS)) in the network 100 to facilitatesynchronization. The BSs 105 can broadcast system information associatedwith the network 100 (e.g., including a master information block (MIB),remaining system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI))to facilitate initial network access. In some instances, the BSs 105 maybroadcast the PSS, the SSS, and/or the MIB in the form ofsynchronization signal block (SSBs) over a physical broadcast channel(PBCH) and may broadcast the RMSI and/or the OSI over a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH).

In some aspects, a UE 115 attempting to access the network 100 mayperform an initial cell search by detecting a PSS from a BS 105. The PSSmay enable synchronization of period timing and may indicate a physicallayer identity value. The UE 115 may then receive a SSS. The SSS mayenable radio frame synchronization, and may provide a cell identityvalue, which may be combined with the physical layer identity value toidentify the cell. The PSS and the SSS may be located in a centralportion of a carrier or any suitable frequencies within the carrier.

After receiving the PSS and SSS, the UE 115 may receive a MIB. The MIBmay include system information for initial network access and schedulinginformation for RMSI and/or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE 115 mayreceive RMSI and/or OSI. The RMSI and/or OSI may include radio resourcecontrol (RRC) information related to random access channel (RACH)procedures, paging, control resource set (CORESET) for physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) monitoring, physical UL control channel (PUCCH),physical UL shared channel (PUSCH), power control, and SRS.

After obtaining the MIB, the RMSI and/or the OSI, the UE 115 can performa random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105. Insome examples, the random access procedure may be a four-step randomaccess procedure. For example, the UE 115 may transmit a random accesspreamble and the BS 105 may respond with a random access response. Therandom access response (RAR) may include a detected random accesspreamble identifier (ID) corresponding to the random access preamble,timing advance (TA) information, a UL grant, a temporary cell-radionetwork temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and/or a backoff indicator. Uponreceiving the random access response, the UE 115 may transmit aconnection request to the BS 105 and the BS 105 may respond with aconnection response. The connection response may indicate a contentionresolution. In some examples, the random access preamble, the RAR, theconnection request, and the connection response can be referred to asmessage 1 (MSG1), message 2 (MSG2), message 3 (MSG3), and message 4(MSG4), respectively. In some examples, the random access procedure maybe a two-step random access procedure, where the UE 115 may transmit arandom access preamble and a connection request in a single transmissionand the BS 105 may respond by transmitting a random access response anda connection response in a single transmission.

After establishing a connection, the UE 115 and the BS 105 can enter anormal operation stage, where operational data may be exchanged. Forexample, the BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 for UL and/or DLcommunications. The BS 105 may transmit UL and/or DL scheduling grantsto the UE 115 via a PDCCH. The scheduling grants may be transmitted inthe form of DL control information (DCI). The BS 105 may transmit a DLcommunication signal (e.g., carrying data) to the UE 115 via a PDSCHaccording to a DL scheduling grant. The UE 115 may transmit a ULcommunication signal to the BS 105 via a PUSCH and/or PUCCH according toa UL scheduling grant.

In some aspects, the network 100 may operate over a system BW or acomponent carrier (CC) BW. The network 100 may partition the system BWinto multiple BWPs (e.g., portions). A BS 105 may dynamically assign aUE 115 to operate over a certain BWP (e.g., a certain portion of thesystem BW). The assigned BWP may be referred to as the active BWP. TheUE 115 may monitor the active BWP for signaling information from the BS105. The BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 for UL or DL communications inthe active BWP. In some aspects, a BS 105 may assign a pair of BWPswithin the CC to a UE 115 for UL and DL communications. For example, theBWP pair may include one BWP for UL communications and one BWP for DLcommunications.

In some aspects, the network 100 may implement a split bearer in a ETURANR-dual connectivity (EN-DC) configuration. A radio bearer is a serviceprovided by Layer 2 to transport user data packets and/or signaling databetween a UE and a network. A radio bearer that transports user data maybe referred to as a data radio bearer (DRB). A radio bearer thattransports signaling data may be referred to as a signaling radio bearer(SRB). The split bearer may transport data between a UE 115 and thenetwork 100 via two radio interface protocols over two wirelesscommunication links (e.g., a NR link and an LTE link). In NR and LTEradio interface protocols, Layer 2 may include several sublayers, suchas a PDCP sublayer, a RLC sublayer, and a MAC sublayer. The PDCPsublayer may receive data packets from an upper layer (e.g.,transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) layer) andtransport the data packets via the RLC sublayer, the MAC sublayer, and aphysical (PHY) layer for OTA transmission. At the receiver side, datapackets are received via a PHY layer, a MAC sublayer, an RLC sublayer,and a PDCP layer, which delivers the data packets to an upper layer. Ina split bearer configuration, data may be split post-PDCP andtransmitted through different RLC/MAC/PHY layers to a peer side asdescribed in greater detail herein.

In some aspects, the UE 115 may be a multi-subscriber identity module(multi-SIM) UE, such as a dual-SIM, dual-standby (DSDS) user equipmentand/or a dual-SIM, dual-active (DSDA) user equipment. In this regard,the UE 115 may be configured to use a first wireless communication linkto communicate with a first network via a first subscription and use adifferent second wireless communication link to communicate with asecond network via a different second subscription. The UE 115 mayreceive voice services, data services, or both using the first wirelesscommunication link via the first subscription. The UE 115 may receivevoice services, data services, or both using the different secondwireless communication link via the different second subscription. Insome instances, the first subscription and the different secondsubscription may be maintained by different wireless carriers or mobilenetwork operators. In some instances, the first subscription and thedifferent second subscription may be maintained by the same wirelesscarrier or mobile network operator.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless communication network 200 according tosome aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communicationnetwork can operate in stand-alone mode and/or in a dual-connectivity ormulti-connectivity mode. In this regard, though the figure shows adual-connectivity arrangement, additional degrees of connectivity can beimplemented. The network 200 may correspond to a portion of the network100. In particular, the network 200 may configure a UE such as the UE115 to implement a split bearer configuration for UL transmission asshown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a UE 215 communicatively coupled to anetwork 250 via a wireless communication link 204 and a wirelesscommunication link 206. In some aspects, the communication link 204 isan LTE wireless communication link and the wireless communication link206 is a NR wireless communication link. The UE 215 may correspond to aUE 115 of FIG. 1 or UE 800 of FIG. 8. As shown, the UE 215 can includean upper layer entity 210, a PDCP entity 220, and two radio interfaceprotocol entities 230 and 240. The upper layer entity 210 may include orexecute one or more application modules (e.g., application 212,application 214) and a network stack, such as TCP/IP. The radiointerface protocol entities 230 and 240 can provide two separate ULtransmission paths to the network 250 (e.g., the BSs 105 and the corenetwork). The UE 215 may include hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to implement the upper layer entity 210, the PDCP entity 220,and the radio interface protocol entities 230 and 240.

As shown in FIG. 2, in some instances the radio interface protocolentity 230 implements an LTE RAT and the radio interface protocol entity240 implements an NR RAT. The LTE radio interface protocol entity 230includes an LTE RLC entity 232, an LTE MAC entity 234, and an LTE PHYentity 236. The NR radio interface protocol entity 240 includes an NRRLC entity 242, an NR MAC entity 244, and an NR PHY entity 246. In someinstances, a split radio bearer configuration can be applied to an NR-NRdual connectivity mode. In other words, the radio interface protocolentities 230 and 240 can both be NR radio interface protocol entitiesand the wireless communication links 204 and 206 are NR communicationlinks. In some other instances, the split radio bearer can be configuredbetween other suitable RATs. Further, in some instances, the UE operatesin stand-alone mode using only one of the radio interface protocolentities 230 or 240 connected to a single RAT (e.g., LTE or NR).

The PDCP entity 220 may provide services to the upper layer entity 210,for example, including transfer of user plane data, header compressionand decompression, ciphering and integrity protection, maintenance ofPDCP sequence numbers, and in-sequence packet delivery. The PDCP entity220 may receive acknowledged data transfer service (including indicationof successful delivery of PDCP PDU) and/or unacknowledged data transferservices from the LTE RLC entity 232 and/or the NR RLC entity 242.

The radio interface protocol entities 230 and 240 may operateindependent of each other but may provide substantially similar servicesand/or functionalities. RLC entities 232 and 242 may perform packetconcatenation, segmentation, re-segmentation, and reassembly, and/orARQ. In some instances, the LTE RLC entity 232 may perform packetreordering, whereas the NR RLC entity 242 may not perform packetreordering since packet reordering may be performed at the PDCP entity220 for NR. In the transmitting path, the MAC entities 234 and 244 mayperform mapping between logical channels and transport channels,multiplexing of MAC service data units (SDUs) from one or differentlogical channels onto transport blocks (TBs) to be delivered tocorresponding entities 236 and 246 on transport channels, respectively,and/or HARQ retransmissions. In the receiving path, the MAC entities 234and 244 may perform demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from one or differentlogical channels from TBs delivered from the corresponding PHY entities236 and 246 on transport channels, respectively, scheduling informationreporting, error correction through HARQ, and/or facilitate quality ofservice (QoS) handling. The PHY entities 236 and 246 carry datainformation to and from corresponding MAC entities 234 and 244,respectively. The PHY entities 236 and 246 may perform cell search, cellmeasurements, error coding, error decoding, modulation, demodulation,and/or physical channel scheduling and reporting.

In some aspects, the PDCP entity 220 receives data packets from theupper layer entity 210 and buffers the data packets in a UL PDCP queue202 (e.g., at a buffer memory). For example, in some instances the PDCPentity 220 receives data packets from an application module (e.g.,application 212 and/or application 214) and buffers the data packets forthe application module in the UL PDCP queue 202 or buffer. Data can bebuffered in a general memory, a specific memory, a dedicated memoryarray, and/or one or more areas in a memory storage. To aid inbuffering, utilized memory storage may be designated for bufferingthough such designations are not necessary. Buffer memory may be astand-alone memory storage and/or can be integrated into a generalmemory providing buffering. In some cases, buffering can be specific toPDCP PDUs where a buffer may only hold PDCP data. In some instances, thebuffer memory is part of a modem of the UE 215.

As one example, a PDCP entity may add PDCP packet headers to datapackets (e.g., upper layer packets) and perform sequence numbering toassociate each data packet with a sequence number in an ascending order.The PDCP entity 220 may store the data packets along with the PDCPpacket headers and associated sequence numbers at the UL PDCP queue 202.The data packets may be stored in a sequential order according to thesequence numbers. The data packets may be referred to as PDCP packets orPDCP PDUs. When operating in a dual-connectivity mode, the PDCP entity220 may route a portion of the packets to the radio interface protocolentity 230 and another portion of the packets to the radio interfaceprotocol entity 240 for transmissions to the network 250. A PDCP packetbeing transmitted via the LTE radio interface protocol entity 230 may beprocessed by the LTE RLC entity 232, the LTE MAC entity 234, and the LTEPHY entity 236 prior to transmission over the wireless communicationlink 204 (e.g., a LTE link). Similarly, a PDCP packet being transmittedvia the NR radio interface protocol entity 240 may be processed by theNR RLC entity 242, the NR MAC entity 244, and NR PHY entity 246 prior totransmission over the wireless communication link 206 (e.g., a NR link).In some instances, when operating in a stand-alone mode the PDCP entity220 may route all the packets to one of the radio interface protocolentities 230 and/or 240.

In some aspects, each of the LTE-RLC entity 232 and the NR-RLC entity242 may have a buffer queue and may store transmitted packets along witha RLC sequence numbers in the RLC buffer queue. Since the LTE RLC entity232 and the NR RLC entity 242 can operate independently, each LTE RLCentity 232 and the NR-RLC entity 242 may maintain its own RLC packetsequence numbers and perform ARQ processing separately in someinstances. Network 250 may transmit RLC acknowledgements(ACKs)/negative-acknowledgements (NACKs) to the UE 215 via acorresponding link using a corresponding RAT. For instance, for a packettransmitted via the LTE wireless communication link 204, the UE 215 mayreceive an ACK or a NACK via the LTE wireless communication link 204.Alternatively, for a packet transmitted via the NR wirelesscommunication link 206, the UE 215 may receive an ACK or a NACK via theNR wireless communication link 206. For each received ACK at the LTE RLCentity 232, the LTE RLC entity 232 may report the ACK to the PDCP entity220. Upon receiving a NACK, the LTE RLC entity 232 may retransmit acorresponding packet to the network 250. Similarly, for each receivedACK or NACK at the NR RLC entity 242, the NR RLC entity 242 may reportthe ACK or NACK to the PDCP entity 220. Upon receiving a NACK, the NRRLC entity 242 may retransmit a corresponding packet to the network 250.

In some aspects, the LTE PHY entity 236 may use different transmissiontime intervals (TTIs) and/or UL scheduling timeline than the NR PHYentity 246 for OTA transmissions. For instance, the LTE PHY entity 236may use a TTI of about 1 millisecond (ms) while the NR PHY entity 246may use a TTI of about 0.125 ms. Additionally, the LTE PHY entity 236may have a UL grant scheduling delay of about 3 TTIs (e.g., about 3 ms)while the NR PHY entity 246 may schedule a UL grant in the same slot(e.g., <0.125 ms). Accordingly, the wireless communication link 204 andthe wireless communication link 206 may have different throughputsand/or different retransmission timeline. Additionally, the wirelesscommunication link 204 and the wireless communication link 206 may havedifferent channel conditions (e.g., different signal-to-noise ratios(SNRs) and/or different block error rates (BLERs)). For instance, thewireless communication link 204 may have a lower throughput, a lowerSNR, and/or a lower BLER than the wireless communication link 206. Thedifferent throughputs and/or channel conditions over the wirelesscommunication links 204 and 206 may have an impact on the amount of datarequired to be buffered in the UL PDCP queue 202.

Further, when the UE 215 transitions between different configurationsthe amount of data buffered in the UL PDCP queue 202 may be impacted.For example, during dynamic radio environments (e.g., based on theRRC/L2/PHY layer, channel quality (CSF), and/or other metrics), thenetwork 250 may reconfigure the UE 215 to different configurationsthrough radio bearer procedures. Similarly, the UE 215 might initiate aprocedure (e.g., radio link failure) due to radio conditions thatresults in a reconfiguration procedure for the UE 215. Thesereconfigurations can be within the same RAT (e.g., to differentparameters/carriers/etc.), to a different RAT (e.g., asfallback/redirection/handover), and/or between dual-connectivity andstandalone modes (e.g., from dual-connectivity to standalone, or fromstandalone to dual-connectivity). During reconfigurations, as well assteady state operations, the UE 215 may encounter delays in ULtransmissions that cause data from an application module (e.g.,application 212 or 214) to build up in the UL PDCP queue 202, which canadversely affect performance of the application and user satisfaction.In this regard, while the UE 215 is experiencing delays in ULtransmissions (e.g., as a result of reconfiguration and/or connectivityissues), the PDCP entity 220 may continue to receive new packets. Thesepackets may be received from the upper layer entity 210, such as from anapplication module (e.g., application 212 and/or 214). As a result, thenumber of packets held at the buffer can continue to increase andeventually the buffer may be full (or reach a threshold of interest(e.g., 90% capacity)).

In accordance with 3gpp TS 38.321 v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer StatusReporting, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety,the UE may send BSRs to the network. In this regard, there are threedifferent types of BSRs that may be triggered: a regular BSR, a periodicBSR, and a padding BSR. A regular BSR can be triggered by (1) higherpriority logical channel data arriving into a logical channel groupcompared to the data present in the logical channel group; (2) a zero tonon-zero buffer transition (e.g., arrival of new data); or (3)expiration of a BSR retransmission timer. A periodic BSR can betriggered by expiration of a periodic timer. A padding BSR can betriggered by padding bytes being available after the logical channelprioritization (LCP) procedure. On the trigger of a BSR (e.g., regular,periodic, or padding), the UE can, if uplink grants are available,attempt to transmit the data in the buffer and/or BSR information basedon the LCP procedure, available bytes, available grants, etc. If nouplink grants are available, then a scheduling request (SR) process maybe initiated by the UE if the BSR triggered is a regular BSR. That is,periodic BSR and padding BSR may not trigger the initiation of the SRprocedure. Accordingly, in some cases only a regular BSR can trigger theinitiation of a SR procedure and associated transmission of a schedulingrequest (SR) to the BS 105 when no uplink resources are available. Thiscan lead to unwanted delays in uplink data transmissions that adverselyaffect the performance of the application(s) running on the UE.

These types of issues can be particularly exacerbated for applicationsthat generate data at regular intervals (e.g., video streams, virtualreality, augmented reality, video games, audio streams, etc.). Forexample, packet delays and/or drops may cause an application generatingan audio/video stream to be jittery, unstable, or otherwise negativelyimpact the user's experience. In some instances, the video quality maybe degraded (e.g., due to a codec adaptation based on perceived lack ofthroughput for the UL data) and not recover, other than through trialand error-based approaches rather than a BSR-based approach. Asdescribed below, aspects of the present disclosure provide solutions tothese issues that can facilitate improved data throughput, smootherexecution of application(s), better user experiences, and/or moreefficient use of network resources.

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating a buffer status report (BSR)technique 300 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Asshown, at 310, an application (e.g., application 212 and/or 214) of theUE 115 is active. Accordingly, the application may be generating uplinkdata that is stored in a buffer (e.g., as discussed above with respectto FIG. 2) prior to transmission over a communication link. For example,the application may generate uplink data that is stored in a buffer of amodem of the UE.

At 320, a BSR condition may be present. In accordance with the presentdisclosure, the presence of the BSR condition at 320 can trigger aregular BSR. In this regard, the regular BSR can be triggered based onthe BSR condition even if under normal BSR procedures (e.g., under 3gppTS 38.321 v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting) a regular BSRmay not be triggered. Accordingly, in some instances the presence of theBSR condition causes the UE to utilize enhanced BSR procedures (see,e.g., FIG. 7).

In some aspects of the present disclosure, the BSR condition is presentat 320 when one or more conditions are present. The conditions may bebased on a status of the application, a buffer status, a networkconnection status, and/or other conditions associated with a UE, anapplication running on the UE, and/or a network. For example, in someinstances, the BSR condition is at least partially based on anapplication of the UE being active. In some instances, the active statusof the application is determined based on at least one of an IP tuple, aquality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or anapplication-specific indicator associated with the application. In somecases, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the applicationencountering one or more performance issues related to the transmissionof UL data packets. For example, in some instances the BSR condition isat least partially based on the application dropping one or morepackets, changing a codec (e.g., moving to a lower resolution codecand/or a lower bandwidth codec), and/or otherwise adjusting performanceparameters as a result of issues related to the transmission (or lackthereof) of UL data packets.

In some instances, the BSR condition is at least partially based on theUE transitioning between a dual connectivity mode and a stand-alone mode(e.g., from dual connectivity to stand-alone, or vice versa). In somecases, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the UEtransitioning between a dual connectivity LTE and NR mode to an LTE-onlymode. In some instances, the BSR condition is at least partially basedon the type of RAT the UE is connected to or supported by the BS,including for example whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial RAT(e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) and/or a non-terrestrial RAT (e.g., asatellite-based RAT). In some instances, the BSR condition is at leastpartially based on the type of BS the UE is connected to, including forexample whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial BS (e.g., a BSattached to or part of a tower, building, vehicle, or other structure onearth), a non-terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS attached to or part of asatellite, balloon, or other device separate from earth), and/or othertype(s) of BS. In some instances, the BSR condition is at leastpartially based on whether the UE is operating in a dual active and/or adual standby mode (e.g., when the UE is a multi-SIM UE).

In some instances, the BSR condition is at least partially based on datain the buffer of the UE related to the application satisfying athreshold. In this regard, the threshold can be based on an amount ofdata, an amount of time, and/or a combination of an amount of data andan amount of time. The particular value(s) of the threshold(s) may bebased on the operating parameters of the application and/or userdetectability of delays in successfully clearing the data from thebuffer via an uplink transmission. Accordingly, in some instances thethreshold amount of data and/or the threshold time may be set tofacilitate the operation of the application in a manner that preserves agood user experience. In some instances, the threshold(s) may bevariable or change over time based on a status (e.g., UL data load) ofthe application.

In some instances, the BSR condition is at least partially based on anuplink grant not being available for the UE to transmit data in a bufferof the UE within a period of time. In some instances, the data in thebuffer is related to the application. In some cases, the period of timeis based on the operating parameters of the application. For example,applications that generate real-time data streams (e.g., video and/oraudio) may have relatively strict timing requirements (e.g., 100-150 ms)before jitter, freezing, and/or other issues adversely affect the user'sexperience with the application. Accordingly, in some instances theperiod of time in which the UE determines an UL grant is not availableto transmit the data in the buffer may be based on the timingrequirements needed for operation of the application in a manner thatpreserves a good user experience. In some instances, the period of timemay be variable or change over time based on a status (e.g., UL dataload) of the application.

In some instances, the BSR condition is at least partially based on acondition of one or more sensors (e.g., temperature sensor(s), motionsensor(s), accelerometer(s), pressure sensor(s), speed/velocitysensor(s), etc.) associated with the UE. The UE may include the one ormore sensors and/or be coupled to and/or in communication with one ormore external sensors. In some instances, the BSR condition is based ona measurement of one or more of the sensors satisfying a threshold(e.g., above or below a temperature threshold, above or below a pressurethreshold, above or below a motion threshold, above or below aspeed/velocity threshold, etc.).

At 330, the UE transmits a scheduling request (SR) to the BS 105. Insome cases, the UE does not have any available UL grants fortransmitting data and/or a BSR upon determining that the BSR conditionis present at 320. Accordingly, the UE may transmit the SR to the BS at330.

At 340, the BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE and transmits an ULgrant to the UE indicating the UL resources. In some instances, the BS105 grants the UE 115 uplink resources sufficient to transmit a BSR(e.g., a regular BSR) to the BS with the uplink grant. However, theuplink grant, at 340, may be insufficient to allow the UE 115 totransmit the uplink data related to the application in the buffer of theUE to the BS 105.

At 350, the UE 115 transmits a BSR to the BS 105. In some instances, theUE 115 transmits a regular BSR at 350. The transmission of the regularBSR at 350 will start a BSR retransmission timer 355, as shown. In thisregard, the BSR retransmission timer 355 may have a fixed length (e.g.,300 ms). During this time, and the preceding time since the BSRcondition became present, the active application may continuallygenerate new data. However, because the data generated by theapplication can be the same priority as the other data related to theapplication in the LCG and the buffer is not moving from a zero tonon-zero state (since it always has data stored), a regular BSR will notbe triggered under normal BSR procedures. As a result, the data maycontinue to build up in the buffer, which can result in packet delaysand/or drops that may negatively impact the user's experience of theapplication.

Following expiration of the BSR retransmission timer 355, the UE 115 cantransmit a further BSR to the BS 105 at 360. In some instances, the UE115 transmits a regular BSR at 360.

At 370, the BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE and transmits an ULgrant to the UE indicating the UL resources. In some instances, the BS105 grants the UE 115 uplink resources sufficient to begin transmittingthe uplink data related to the application stored in the buffer of theUE 115.

At 380, the UE 115 begins transmitting the UL data related to theapplication stored in the buffer of the UE. However, due to the delay390 from the BSR condition becoming present at 320 and the UE beginningto transmit the UL data at 380, the user's experience may be negativelyaffected (e.g., jitter, skipping, freezing, etc.). In this regard, thedelay 390 may be between 500 ms and 1,000 ms, or more, in someinstances.

FIG. 4 is a signaling diagram illustrating a BSR technique 400 accordingto some aspects of the present disclosure. The BSR technique 400 issimilar in many respects to the BSR technique 300 described above withrespect to FIG. 3. Accordingly, some of details described above withrespect to BSR technique 300 are not repeated here. As shown, however,for the BSR technique 400 the UE 115 has an uplink grant that allow theUE to transmit a BSR to the BS 105 without first transmitting an SR tothe BS 105.

As shown, at 410, an application (e.g., application 212 and/or 214) ofthe UE 115 is active. Accordingly, the application may be generatinguplink data that is stored in a buffer (e.g., as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 2) prior to transmission over a communication link. Forexample, the application may generate uplink data that is stored in abuffer of a modem of the UE.

At 420, a BSR condition may be present. In accordance with the presentdisclosure, the presence of the BSR condition at 420 can trigger aregular BSR. In this regard, the regular BSR can be triggered based onthe BSR condition even if under normal BSR procedures (e.g., under 3gppTS 38.321 v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting) a regular BSRmay not be triggered. Accordingly, in some instances the presence of theBSR condition causes the UE to utilize enhanced BSR procedures (see,e.g., FIG. 7). As discussed above, in some aspects of the presentdisclosure, the BSR condition is present at when one or more conditionsare present. The conditions may be based on a status of the application,a buffer status, a network connection status, and/or other conditionsassociated with a UE, an application running on the UE, and/or anetwork.

At 450, the UE 115 transmits a BSR to the BS 105. In some cases, the UEhas available UL grants for transmitting the BSR upon determining thatthe BSR condition is present at 420. In some instances, the UE 115transmits a regular BSR at 450. The transmission of the regular BSR at450 will start a BSR retransmission timer 455, as shown.

Following expiration of the BSR retransmission timer 455, the UE 115 cantransmit a further BSR to the BS 105 at 460. In some instances, the UE115 transmits a regular BSR at 460.

At 470, the BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE and transmits an ULgrant to the UE indicating the UL resources. In some instances, the BS105 grants the UE 115 uplink resources sufficient to begin transmittingthe uplink data related to the application stored in the buffer of theUE 115.

At 480, the UE 115 begins transmitting the UL data related to theapplication stored in the buffer of the UE. However, due to the delay490 from the BSR condition becoming present at 420 and the UE beginningto transmit the UL data at 480, the user's experience may be negativelyaffected (e.g., jitter, skipping, freezing, etc.). In this regard, thedelay 490 may be between 400 ms and 1,000 ms, or more, in someinstances.

FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating a BSR technique 500 accordingto some aspects of the present disclosure. The BSR technique 500 issimilar in some respects to the BSR technique 300 described above withrespect to FIG. 3 in terms of the UE not initially having an uplinkgrant for transmitting uplink data and/or a BSR. However, as shown, theBSR technique 500 can avoid unwanted delays in UL data transmissionsand, thereby, improve user satisfaction and experiences with theapplication compared to the BSR technique 300 through the use ofenhanced BSR procedures.

As shown, at 510, an application (e.g., application 212 and/or 214) ofthe UE 115 is active. Accordingly, the application may be generatinguplink data that is stored in a buffer (e.g., as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 2) prior to transmission over a communication link. Forexample, the application may generate uplink data that is stored in abuffer of a modem of the UE.

At 520, a BSR condition may be present. In accordance with the presentdisclosure, the presence of the BSR condition at 520 can trigger aregular BSR. In this regard, the regular BSR can be triggered based onthe BSR condition being present at 520 even if under normal BSRprocedures (e.g., under 3gpp TS 38.321 v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 BufferStatus Reporting) a regular BSR may not be triggered. Accordingly, insome instances the presence of the BSR condition causes the UE toutilize enhanced BSR procedures (see, e.g., FIG. 7).

In some aspects of the present disclosure, the BSR condition is presentat 520 when one or more conditions are present. The conditions may bebased on a status of the application, a buffer status, a networkconnection status, and/or other conditions associated with a UE, anapplication running on the UE, and/or a network. For example, in someinstances, the BSR condition is at least partially based on anapplication of the UE being active. In some instances, the active statusof the application is determined based on at least one of an IP tuple, aquality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or anapplication-specific indicator associated with the application. In somecases, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the applicationencountering one or more performance issues related to the transmissionof UL data packets. For example, in some instances the BSR condition isat least partially based on the application dropping one or morepackets, changing a codec (e.g., moving to a lower resolution codecand/or a lower bandwidth codec), and/or otherwise adjusting performanceparameters as a result of issues related to the transmission (or lackthereof) of UL data packets.

In some instances, the BSR condition is present at least partially basedon the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity mode and astand-alone mode (e.g., from dual connectivity to stand-alone, or viceversa). In some cases, the BSR condition is present at least partiallybased on the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity LTE and NRmode to an LTE-only mode. In some instances, the BSR condition is atleast partially based on the type of RAT the UE is connected to orsupported by the BS, including for example whether the UE is connectedto a terrestrial RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) and/or a non-terrestrialRAT (e.g., a satellite-based RAT). In some instances, the BSR conditionis at least partially based on the type of BS the UE is connected to,including for example whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial BS(e.g., a BS attached to or part of a tower, building, vehicle, or otherstructure on earth), a non-terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS attached to orpart of a satellite, balloon, or other device separate from earth),and/or other type(s) of BS. In some instances, the BSR condition is atleast partially based on whether the UE is operating in a dual activeand/or a dual standby mode (e.g., when the UE is a multi-SIM UE).

In some instances, the BSR condition is present at least partially basedon data in the buffer of the UE related to the application satisfying athreshold. In this regard, the threshold can be based on an amount ofdata, an amount of time, and/or a combination of an amount of data andan amount of time. The particular value(s) of the threshold(s) may bebased on the operating parameters of the application and/or userdetectability of delays in successfully clearing the data from thebuffer via an uplink transmission. Accordingly, in some instances thethreshold amount of data and/or the threshold time may be set tofacilitate the operation of the application in a manner that preserves agood user experience. In some instances, the threshold(s) may bevariable or change over time based on a status (e.g., UL data load) ofthe application.

In some instances, the BSR condition is at least partially based on acondition of one or more sensors (e.g., temperature sensor(s), motionsensor(s), accelerometer(s), pressure sensor(s), speed/velocitysensor(s), etc.) associated with the UE. The UE may include the one ormore sensors and/or be coupled to and/or in communication with one ormore external sensors. In some instances, the BSR condition is based ona measurement of one or more of the sensors satisfying a threshold(e.g., above or below a temperature threshold, above or below a pressurethreshold, above or below a motion threshold, above or below aspeed/velocity threshold, etc.).

In some instances, the BSR condition is present at least partially basedon an uplink grant not being available for the UE to transmit data in abuffer of the UE within a period of time. In some instances, the data inthe buffer is related to the application. In some cases, the period oftime is based on the operating parameters of the application. Forexample, applications that generate real-time data streams (e.g., videoand/or audio) may have relatively strict timing requirements (e.g.,100-150 ms) before jitter, freezing, and/or other issues adverselyaffect the user's experience with the application. Accordingly, in someinstances the period of time in which the UE determines an UL grant isnot available to transmit the data in the buffer may be based on thetiming requirements needed for operation of the application in a mannerthat preserves a good user experience. In some instances, the period oftime may be variable or change over time based on a status (e.g., ULdata load) of the application.

At 530, the UE transmits a scheduling request (SR) to the BS 105. Insome cases, the UE does not have any available UL grants fortransmitting data and/or a BSR upon determining that the BSR conditionis present at 520. Accordingly, the UE may transmit the SR to the BS at530.

At 540, the BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE and transmits an ULgrant to the UE indicating the UL resources. In some instances, the BS105 grants the UE 115 uplink resources sufficient to transmit a BSR(e.g., a regular BSR) to the BS with the uplink grant. However, theuplink grant, at 540, may be insufficient to allow the UE 115 totransmit the uplink data related to the application in the buffer of theUE to the BS 105.

At 550, the UE 115 transmits a BSR to the BS 105. In some instances, theUE 115 transmits a regular BSR at 550. The transmission of the regularBSR at 550 can start a BSR retransmission timer 555, as shown. In thisregard, the BSR retransmission timer 555 may have a fixed length (e.g.,300 ms). However, contrary to the BSR technique 300 of FIG. 3, for theBSR technique 500 the UE does not wait for the BSR retransmission timer555 to expire before transmitting another BSR at 560. That is, the UEcan transmit a regular BSR at 560 instead of waiting for the BSRretransmission timer 555 to expire. In some instances, the UE cantrigger the regular BSR at 560 by treating the BSR condition beingpresent and not having uplink resources available for transmitting thedata associated with the application in the buffer of the UE within atime period as a regular BSR trigger. Alternatively, in some instancesthe UE can trigger the regular BSR at 560 by treating the BSR conditionbeing present and not having uplink resources available for transmittingthe data associated with the application in the buffer of the UE withina time period to initiate removing data from the buffer to triggereither a zero to non-zero state change and/or higher priority data inthe LCG.

At 570, the BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE (in response to theBSR transmitted at 560) and transmits an UL grant to the UE indicatingthe UL resources. In some instances, the BS 105 grants the UE 115 uplinkresources sufficient at 570 to begin transmitting the uplink datarelated to the application stored in the buffer of the UE 115.

At 580, the UE 115 begins transmitting the UL data related to theapplication stored in the buffer of the UE. As shown, the delay 590 fromthe BSR condition becoming present at 520 and the UE beginning totransmit the UL data at 580 is significantly reduced relative to thedelay 390 of the BSR technique 300. In this regard, the delay 590 may bebetween 50 ms and 200 ms, or less, in some instances. As a result of theBSR technique 500, the user's experience of the application may beuninterrupted and not negatively affected (e.g., jitter, skipping,freezing, etc.).

FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating a BSR technique 600 accordingto some aspects of the present disclosure. The BSR technique 600 issimilar in some respects to the BSR technique 400 described above withrespect to FIG. 4 in terms of the UE having an uplink grant fortransmitting a BSR. However, as shown, the BSR technique 600 can avoidunwanted delays in UL data transmissions and, thereby, improve usersatisfaction and experiences with the application compared to the BSRtechnique 400 through the use of enhanced BSR procedures. The BSRtechnique 600 is also similar in some respects to the BSR technique 500described above with respect to FIG. 5. Accordingly, some of detailsdescribed above with respect to BSR technique 500 are not repeated here.

As shown, at 610, an application (e.g., application 212 and/or 214) ofthe UE 115 is active. Accordingly, the application may be generatinguplink data that is stored in a buffer (e.g., as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 2) prior to transmission over a communication link. Forexample, the application may generate uplink data that is stored in abuffer of a modem of the UE.

At 620, a BSR condition may be present. In accordance with the presentdisclosure, the presence of the BSR condition at 620 can trigger aregular BSR. In this regard, the regular BSR can be triggered based onthe BSR condition being present at 520 even if under normal BSRprocedures (e.g., under 3gpp TS 38.321 v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 BufferStatus Reporting) a regular BSR may not be triggered. Accordingly, insome instances the presence of the BSR condition causes the UE toutilize enhanced BSR procedures (see, e.g., FIG. 7). As discussed abovewith respect to FIG. 5, in some aspects of the present disclosure, theBSR condition is present at when one or more conditions are present. Theconditions may be based on a status of the application, a buffer status,a network connection status, and/or other conditions associated with aUE, an application running on the UE, and/or a network.

At 650, the UE 115 transmits a BSR to the BS 105. In some instances, theUE 115 transmits a regular BSR at 650. The transmission of the regularBSR at 650 can start a BSR retransmission timer 555, as shown. In thisregard, the BSR retransmission timer 655 may have a fixed length (e.g.,300 ms). However, contrary to the BSR technique 400 of FIG. 4, for theBSR technique 600 the UE does not wait for the BSR retransmission timer455 to expire before transmitting another BSR at 660. That is, the UEcan transmit a regular BSR at 660 instead of waiting for the BSRretransmission timer 655 to expire. In some instances, the UE cantrigger the regular BSR at 660 by treating the BSR condition beingpresent and not having uplink resources available for transmitting thedata associated with the application in the buffer of the UE within atime period as a regular BSR trigger. Alternatively, in some instancesthe UE can trigger the regular BSR at 660 by treating the BSR conditionbeing present and not having uplink resources available for transmittingthe data associated with the application in the buffer of the UE withina time period to initiate removing data from the buffer to triggereither a zero to non-zero state change and/or higher priority data inthe LCG.

At 670, the BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE (in response to theBSR transmitted at 660) and transmits an UL grant to the UE indicatingthe UL resources. In some instances, the BS 105 grants the UE 115 uplinkresources sufficient at 670 to begin transmitting the uplink datarelated to the application stored in the buffer of the UE 115.

At 680, the UE 115 begins transmitting the UL data related to theapplication stored in the buffer of the UE. As shown, the delay 690 fromthe BSR condition becoming present at 620 and the UE beginning totransmit the UL data at 680 is significantly reduced relative to thedelay 490 of the BSR technique 400. In this regard, the delay 690 may bebetween 20 ms and 200 ms, or less, in some instances. As a result of theBSR technique 600, the user's experience of the application may beuninterrupted and not negatively affected (e.g., jitter, skipping,freezing, etc.).

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method 700according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of themethod 700 can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor,processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wirelesscommunication device or other suitable means for performing the steps.For example, a wireless communication device, such as the UE 115, 215,or 800, may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 802,the memory 804, the BSR module 808, the transceiver 810, the modem 812,and the one or more antennas 816, to execute the steps of method 700.The method 700 may employ similar mechanisms to the BSR techniques 300,400, 500, and/or 600 described above with respect to FIGS. 3, 4, 5,and/or 6, respectively. As illustrated, the method 700 includes a numberof enumerated steps, but aspects of the method 700 may includeadditional steps before, after, and in between the enumerated steps. Insome aspects, one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted orperformed in a different order.

At 710, the method 700 includes determining whether an application isactive. In some instances, whether the application is active isdetermined based on at least one of an IP tuple, a quality of service(QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator. Thatis, the presence of an IP tuple associated with the application, a QFIassociated with the application, and/or an application-specificindicator associated with the application can be utilized to determinethe application is active in some instances. If, at 710, the applicationis not active, then the method 700 continues to 720 where the UE followsnormal BSR procedures. If, at 710, the application is active, then themethod 700 continues to 730.

At 730, the method 700 includes determining whether a BSR condition ispresent. In some instances, whether the BSR condition is present isdetermined based on a condition of the application, based on the UEtransitioning between a dual connectivity mode and a stand-alone mode(e.g., from dual connectivity to stand-alone, or vice versa), based onthe data in the buffer of the UE satisfying a threshold (e.g., based onan amount of data, an amount of time, and/or a combination of an amountof data and an amount of time), based on a failure of a hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) for a previous BSR (e.g., a previous regular BSR),and/or based on an uplink grant not being available for the UE totransmit data (e.g., data associated with the application) in a bufferof the UE within a period of time. If, at 730, the BSR condition is notpresent, then the method 700 continues to 720 where the UE followsnormal BSR procedures. If, at 730, the BSR condition is present, thenthe method 700 continues to 740.

At 740, the method 700 includes utilizing enhanced BSR procedures. Inthis regard, the enhanced BSR procedures can include aspects of the BSRtechniques 500 and 600 described above with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6, aswell as aspects of the wireless communication method 1000 describedbelow with respect to FIG. 10. For example, in accordance with theenhanced BSR procedures of the present disclosure, the presence of theBSR condition at 730 can trigger a regular BSR. In this regard, theregular BSR can be triggered based on the BSR condition being presenteven if under normal BSR procedures (e.g., under 3gpp TS 38.321 v.16.2,Section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting) a regular BSR may not betriggered. Further, the enhanced BSR procedures of the presentdisclosure can include removing data from the buffer of the UE. In someinstances, the data is removed from the buffer of the UE by moving atleast a portion of the data from the buffer to an application module(e.g., moving the data into higher layer memory associated with theapplication). In some instances, the data is removed from the buffer bydropping all or a portion of the data. That is, the data that is droppedcan be discarded or otherwise not transmitted to a BS. In someinstances, the data removed from the buffer is resubmitted to the bufferto trigger a regular BSR (e.g., as a result of a zero to non-zero statechange and/or the presence of higher priority data in the LCG).

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 800 according to someaspects of the present disclosure. The UE 800 may be a UE 115 discussedabove in FIG. 1 or a UE 215 discussed above in FIG. 2. As shown, the UE800 may include a processor 802, a memory 804, a BSR module 808, atransceiver 810 including a modem subsystem 812 and a radio frequency(RF) unit 814, and one or more antennas 816. These elements may be indirect or indirect communication with each other, for example via one ormore buses.

The processor 802 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device,another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereofconfigured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 802may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

The memory 804 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of theprocessor 802), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM),read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memorydevice, hard disk drives, other forms of volatile and non-volatilememory, or a combination of different types of memory. In an aspect, thememory 804 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Thememory 804 may store, or have recorded thereon, instructions 806. Theinstructions 806 may include instructions that, when executed by theprocessor 802, cause the processor 802 to perform the operationsdescribed herein with reference to the UEs 115, 215 in connection withaspects of the present disclosure, for example, aspects of FIGS. 2-7 and10. Instructions 806 may also be referred to as program code. Theprogram code may be for causing a wireless communication device toperform these operations, for example by causing one or more processors(such as processor 802) to control or command the wireless communicationdevice to do so. The terms “instructions” and “code” should beinterpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readablestatement(s). For example, the terms “instructions” and “code” may referto one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures,etc. “Instructions” and “code” may include a single computer-readablestatement or many computer-readable statements.

The BSR module 808 may be implemented via hardware, software, orcombinations thereof. For example, the BSR module 808 may be implementedas a processor, circuit, and/or instructions 806 stored in the memory804 and executed by the processor 802. In some examples, the BSR module808 can be integrated within the modem subsystem 812. For example, theBSR module 808 can be implemented by a combination of softwarecomponents (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general processor) and hardwarecomponents (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within the modem subsystem812.

The BSR module 808 may be used for various aspects of the presentdisclosure, for example, aspects of aspects of FIGS. 2-7 and 10. The BSRmodule 808 is configured to determine a buffer status report (BSR)condition is present. In some instances, the BSR module 808 determinesthe BSR condition is present based on a condition of an application. Insome cases, the condition of the application is that the application isactive. In some instances, the BSR module 808 determines the applicationis active based on at least one of an IP tuple, a quality of service(QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator. Thatis, in some instances the presence of an IP tuple associated with theapplication, a QFI associated with the application, and/or anapplication-specific indicator associated with the application can beutilized by the BSR module 808 to determine the application is active.In some cases, the condition of the application is that the applicationis encountering one or more performance issues related to thetransmission of UL data packets. For example, in some instances the BSRmodule 808 determines the BSR condition is present based on theapplication dropping one or more packets, changing a codec (e.g., movingto a lower resolution codec and/or a lower bandwidth codec), and/orotherwise adjusting performance parameters. In some instances, the BSRmodule 808 determines the BSR condition is present based on the UEtransitioning between a dual connectivity mode and a stand-alone mode(e.g., from dual connectivity to stand-alone, or vice versa). In somecases, the UE determines the BSR condition is present based on the UEtransitioning between a dual connectivity LTE and NR mode to an LTE-onlymode. In some instances, the BSR module 808 determines the BSR conditionis present based on the data in the buffer of the UE satisfying athreshold. In this regard, the threshold can be based on an amount ofdata, an amount of time, and/or a combination of an amount of data andan amount of time. In some instances, the BSR module 808 determines theBSR condition is present based on a failure of a hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) for a previous BSR, such as a previous regular BSR.

In some instances, the BSR module 808 determines an uplink grant is notavailable for the UE to transmit data in a buffer of the UE within aperiod of time. In some instances, the data in the buffer is related tothe application. In some cases, the period of time is based on theoperating parameters of the application. In some instances, the periodof time may be variable or change over time based on a status (e.g., ULdata load) of the application.

In some instances, the BSR module 808 removes the data from the bufferof the UE. In some instances, the BSR module 808 removes the data fromthe buffer of the UE by moving at least a portion of the data from thebuffer to an application module. For example, the data in the buffer maybe moved to a higher layer memory associated with the application. Insome instances, the BSR module 808 removes the data from the buffer bydropping all or a portion of the data. In some instances, the dataremoved from the buffer is then resubmitted to the buffer by the BSRmodule 808 for UL transmission by the transceiver 810.

As shown, the transceiver 810 may include the modem subsystem 812 andthe RF unit 814. The transceiver 810 can be configured to communicatebi-directionally with other devices, such as the BSs 105. The modemsubsystem 812 may be configured to modulate and/or encode the data fromthe memory 804 and/or the BSR module 808 according to a modulation andcoding scheme (MCS), e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) codingscheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digitalbeamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 814 may be configured to process(e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analogconversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, ACK/NACKs,SR, BSR, MAC-CE, RLC status poll, etc.) from the modem subsystem 812 (onoutbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from anothersource such as another UE 115 or a BS 105 (e.g., RRC configurations; ULgrants, etc.). The RF unit 814 may be further configured to performanalog beamforming in conjunction with the digital beamforming. Althoughshown as integrated together in transceiver 810, the modem subsystem 812and the RF unit 814 may be separate devices that are coupled together atthe UE 800 to enable the UE 800 to communicate with other devices.Further, as noted above, in some instances the modem subsystem 812includes a buffer (e.g., memory) that stores UL data associated with oneor more upper layer applications of the UE 800.

The RF unit 814 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g.data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one ormore data packets and other information), to the antennas 816 fortransmission to one or more other devices. The antennas 816 may furtherreceive data messages transmitted from other devices. The antennas 816may provide the received data messages for processing and/ordemodulation at the transceiver 810. The transceiver 810 may provide thedemodulated and decoded data (e.g., RRC configurations; UL grants; splitradio bearer configurations, standalone radio bearer configurations,PDCCH, PDSCH, ACK/NACKs, RLC status poll, etc.) to the BSR module 808and/or the processor 802 for processing. The antennas 816 may includemultiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustainmultiple transmission links. The RF unit 814 may configure the antennas816.

In an aspect, the UE 800 can include multiple transceivers 810implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an aspect, the UE 800can include a single transceiver 810 implementing multiple RATs (e.g.,NR and LTE). In an aspect, the transceiver 810 can include variouscomponents, where different combinations of components can implementdifferent RATs.

In some cases, the transceiver 810 is configured to transmit, to a basestation (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) basedat least in part on a BSR condition being present and an uplink grantnot being available for the UE to transmit data in the buffer of the UEwithin a period of time. In some cases, transceiver 810 may transmit anSR to the BS. In some instances, the transceiver 810 receives an ULgrant from the BS in response to the SR. In some cases, the UL grant canallow the transceiver 810 to transmit a BSR (e.g., a regular BSR) to theBS.

In some cases, the transceiver 810 transmits a regular BSR to the BS at1030. Further, in some instances the transceiver 810 transmits theregular BSR to the BS prior to expiration of a BSR retransmission timer.In some instances, the transceiver 810 receives an uplink grant from theBS in response to the regular BSR. In this regard, the UL grant can besufficient for the transceiver 810 to transmit the data in the bufferrelated to the application without adverse effect to the operations,execution, and/or user experiences related to the application.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary BS 900 according to someaspects of the present disclosure. The BS 900 may be a BS 105 in thenetwork 100 as discussed above in FIG. 1. A shown, the BS 900 mayinclude a processor 902, a memory 904, a BSR module 908, a transceiver910 including a modem subsystem 912 and a RF unit 914, and one or moreantennas 916. These elements may be in direct or indirect communicationwith each other, for example via one or more buses.

The processor 902 may have various features as a specific-typeprocessor. For example, these may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, acontroller, a FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device,or any combination thereof configured to perform the operationsdescribed herein. The processor 902 may also be implemented as acombination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and amicroprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The memory 904 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of theprocessor 902), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, asolid state memory device, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-basedarrays, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or acombination of different types of memory. In some aspects, the memory904 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory904 may store instructions 906. The instructions 906 may includeinstructions that, when executed by the processor 902, cause theprocessor 902 to perform operations described herein, for example,aspects of FIGS. 2-3 and 6-10. Instructions 906 may also be referred toas code, which may be interpreted broadly to include any type ofcomputer-readable statement(s) as discussed above with respect to FIG.4.

The BSR module 908 may be implemented via hardware, software, orcombinations thereof. For example, the BSR module 908 may be implementedas a processor, circuit, and/or instructions 906 stored in the memory904 and executed by the processor 902. In some examples, the BSR module908 can be integrated within the modem subsystem 912. For example, theBSR module 908 can be implemented by a combination of softwarecomponents (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general processor) and hardwarecomponents (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within the modem subsystem912. The BSR module 908 may be used for various aspects of the presentdisclosure, for example, aspects of aspects of FIGS. 2-7.

As shown, the transceiver 910 may include the modem subsystem 912 andthe RF unit 914. The transceiver 910 can be configured to communicatebi-directionally with other devices, such as the UEs 115, 215, and/or800 and/or another core network element. The modem subsystem 912 may beconfigured to modulate and/or encode data according to a MCS, e.g., aLDPC coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional codingscheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 914 may beconfigured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion ordigital to analog conversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data (e.g., RRCconfigurations, UL grants, a split radio bearer configuration,standalone radio bearer configuration, PDCCH, PDSCH, ACK/NACKs, RLCstatus poll, etc.) from the modem subsystem 912 (on outboundtransmissions) or of transmissions originating from another source suchas a UE 115, 215, and/or UE 800 (e.g., SR, BSR, MAC-CE, etc.). The RFunit 914 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming inconjunction with the digital beamforming. Although shown as integratedtogether in transceiver 910, the modem subsystem 912 and/or the RF unit914 may be separate devices that are coupled together at the BS 105 toenable the BS 105 to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit 914 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g.data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one ormore data packets and other information), to the antennas 916 fortransmission to one or more other devices. This may include, forexample, transmission of information to complete attachment to a networkand communication with a camped UE 115, 215, or 800 according to someaspects of the present disclosure. The antennas 916 may further receivedata messages transmitted from other devices and provide the receiveddata messages for processing and/or demodulation at the transceiver 910.The transceiver 910 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g.,SR, BSR, MAC-CE, PUCCH, PUSCH, ACK/NACKs, RLC status poll, etc.) to theBSR module 908 and/or the processor 902 for processing. The antennas 916may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to sustainmultiple transmission links. In an aspect, the BS 900 can includemultiple transceivers 910 implementing different RATs (e.g., NR andLTE). In an aspect, the BS 900 can include a single transceiver 910implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an aspect, thetransceiver 910 can include various components, where differentcombinations of components can implement different RATs.

In some cases, the transceiver 910 is configured to receive, from a UE,at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR). In some cases,transceiver 910 may transmit an UL grant to the UE in response to the SRand/or the BSR. In some cases, the UL grant can allow the UE to transmita BSR (e.g., a regular BSR) to the transceiver 910. In some cases, theUL grant can be sufficient for the UE to transmit data in a buffer ofthe UE related to an application.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method 1000according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of themethod 1000 can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor,processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wirelesscommunication device or other suitable means for performing the steps.For example, a wireless communication device, such as the UE 115, 215,or 800, may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 802,the memory 804, the BSR module 808, the transceiver 810, the modem 812,and the one or more antennas 816, to execute the steps of method 1000.The method 1000 may employ similar mechanisms as in the BSR techniques300, 400, 500, and/or 600 described above with respect to FIGS. 3, 4, 5,and/or 6, respectively, as well as similar mechanisms as in method 700described above with respect to FIG. 7. As illustrated, the method 1000includes a number of enumerated steps, but aspects of the method 1000may include additional steps before, after, and in between theenumerated steps. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated stepsmay be omitted or performed in a different order.

At block 1010, the UE determines a buffer status report (BSR) conditionis present. In some instances, the UE determines the BSR condition ispresent based on a condition of an application. In some cases, thecondition of the application is that the application is active. In someinstances, the UE determines the application is active based on at leastone of an IP tuple, a quality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), oran application-specific indicator. That is, in some instances thepresence of an IP tuple associated with the application, a QFIassociated with the application, and/or an application-specificindicator associated with the application can be utilized by the UE todetermine the application is active. In some cases, the condition of theapplication is that the application is encountering one or moreperformance issues related to the transmission of UL data packets. Forexample, in some instances the UE determines the BSR condition ispresent based on the application dropping one or more packets, changinga codec (e.g., moving to a lower resolution codec and/or a lowerbandwidth codec), and/or otherwise adjusting performance parameters.

In some instances, the UE determines the BSR condition is present basedon the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity mode and astand-alone mode (e.g., from dual connectivity to stand-alone, or viceversa). In some cases, the UE determines the BSR condition is presentbased on the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity LTE and NRmode to an LTE-only mode. In some instances, the UE determines the BSRcondition is present based on the type of RAT the UE is connected to orsupported by the BS, including for example whether the UE is connectedto a terrestrial RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) and/or a non-terrestrialRAT (e.g., a satellite-based RAT). In some instances, the UE determinesthe BSR condition is present based on the type of BS the UE is connectedto, including for example whether the UE is connected to a terrestrialBS (e.g., a BS attached to or part of a tower, building, vehicle, orother structure on earth), a non-terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS attached toor part of a satellite, balloon, or other device separate from earth),and/or other type(s) of BS. In some instances, the UE determines the BSRcondition is present based on whether the UE is operating in a dualactive and/or a dual standby mode (e.g., when the UE is a multi-SIM UE).

In some instances, the UE determines the BSR condition is present basedon the data in the buffer of the UE satisfying a threshold. In thisregard, the threshold can be based on an amount of data, an amount oftime, and/or a combination of an amount of data and an amount of time.For example, in some cases if the amount of data related to theapplication stored in the buffer satisfies a threshold amount (e.g.,greater than X kilobytes), then the BSR condition is present. Further,in some cases if the data related to the application stored in thebuffer satisfies a threshold time (e.g., greater than Y ms), then theBSR condition is present. Further still, in some cases if the amount ofdata related to the application stored in the buffer satisfies athreshold amount (e.g., greater than X kilobytes) for a threshold time(e.g., greater than Y ms), then the BSR condition is present. Theparticular value(s) of the threshold(s) may be based on the operatingparameters of the application and/or user detectability of delays inclearing the data from the buffer. For example, applications thatgenerate real-time data streams (e.g., video and/or audio) may haverelatively strict timing requirements (e.g., 100-150 ms) before jitter,freezing, and/or other issues adversely affect the user's experiencewith the application. Accordingly, in some instances the thresholdamount of data and/or the threshold time may be set to facilitate theoperation of the application in a manner that preserves a good userexperience. In some instances, the threshold(s) may be variable orchange over time based on a status (e.g., UL data load) of theapplication.

In some instances, the UE determines the BSR condition is present basedon a condition of one or more sensors (e.g., temperature sensor(s),motion sensor(s), accelerometer(s), pressure sensor(s), speed/velocitysensor(s), etc.) associated with the UE. The UE may include the one ormore sensors and/or be coupled to and/or in communication with one ormore external sensors. In some instances, the UE determines the BSRcondition is present based on a measurement of one or more of thesensors satisfying a threshold (e.g., above or below a temperaturethreshold, above or below a pressure threshold, above or below a motionthreshold, above or below a speed/velocity threshold, etc.).

At block 1020, the UE determines an uplink grant is not available forthe UE to transmit data in a buffer of the UE within a period of time.In some instances, the data in the buffer is related to the application.In some cases, the period of time is based on the operating parametersof the application. For example, as noted above, applications thatgenerate real-time data streams (e.g., video and/or audio) may haverelatively strict timing requirements (e.g., 100-150 ms) before jitter,freezing, and/or other issues adversely affect the user's experiencewith the application. Accordingly, in some instances the period of timein which the UE determines an UL grant is not available to transmit thedata in the buffer may be based on the timing requirements needed foroperation of the application in a manner that preserves a good userexperience. In some instances, the period of time may be variable orchange over time based on a status (e.g., UL data load) of theapplication.

At block 1030, the UE transmits, to a base station (BS), at least one ofa BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at least in part on the BSRcondition being present and the uplink grant not being available for theUE to transmit the data in the buffer of the UE within the period oftime. In some cases, the UE does not have any available UL grants fortransmitting a BSR upon determining that a BSR condition is present(e.g., similar to FIG. 5). Accordingly, the UE may transmit an SR to theBS. In some instances, the UE receives an UL grant from the BS inresponse to the SR. In some cases, the UL grant can allow the UE totransmit a BSR (e.g., a regular BSR) to the BS.

In some cases, the UE has an available uplink grant and transmits a BSRusing the available uplink grant (e.g., similar to FIG. 6) at 1030. Insome instances, the UE transmits a regular BSR to the BS at 1030.Further, in some instances the UE transmits the regular BSR to the BSprior to expiration of a BSR retransmission timer. In some instances,the UE receives an uplink grant from the BS in response to the regularBSR. In this regard, the UL grant can be sufficient for the UE totransmit the data in the buffer related to the application withoutadverse effect to the operations, execution, and/or user experiencesrelated to the application.

In some instances, the method 1000 includes the UE removing the datafrom the buffer of the UE. In some instances, the UE removes the datafrom the buffer of the UE by moving at least a portion of the data fromthe buffer to an application module. For example, the data in the buffermay be moved to a higher layer memory associated with the application.In some instances, the UE removes the data from the buffer by droppingall or a portion of the data. In some instances, the data removed fromthe buffer is then resubmitted to the buffer in anticipation of ULtransmission. By removing the data from the buffer and either droppingall or a portion fo the data and/or reintroducing all or a portion ofthe data back into the buffer, the buffer may transition from a zerostate (after removal of the data) to a non-zero state (reintroduction ofdata or introduction of new data) with respect to data associated withthe application, which can trigger the transmission of a regular BSR tothe BS.

As discussed above, in some instances the UE determines the uplink grantis not available for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer of the UEand transmits the BSR in the context of a transition between dualconnectivity and stand-alone modes, reconfiguration of the UE, and/orother conditions caused by variable radio network conditions. In someinstances, the UE determines the uplink grant is not available for theUE to transmit the data in the buffer of the UE and transmits the BSRduring a steady state connection of the UE to a network. That is, insome instances one or more BSR conditions may be present even during asteady state connection of the UE to a network and the UE may utilizesimilar BSR techniques as described herein.

In some instances, the UE determines the BSR condition is present basedon a failure of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a previousBSR. In some cases, the previous BSR is a regular BSR. In this regard,if the previous BSR is not successfully received by the BS, then the UEwill not receive an ACK (or UL grant) from the BS. Whereas somecommunications (e.g., RLC AM PDUs) have an ability for retransmission inthe event of HARQ failure, under normal BSR procedures (e.g., 3gpp TS38.321 v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting) a UE may berequired to wait for expiration of a BSR retransmission timer beforeattempting to retransmit a regular BSR. However, in accordance with thepresent disclosure, in some cases the failure of the HARQ for theprevious BSR can cause the UE to determine a BSR condition is presentand proceed to transmit, at block 1030, another regular BSR prior toexpiration of the BSR retransmission timer associated with the previousBSR transmission (e.g., similar to the BSR techniques 500 and 600 ofFIGS. 5 and 6, respectively).

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described above can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as usedin a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrasesuch as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusivelist such that, for example, a list of [at least one of A, B, or C]means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

As those of some skill in this art will by now appreciate and dependingon the particular application at hand, many modifications, substitutionsand variations can be made in and to the materials, apparatus,configurations and methods of use of the devices of the presentdisclosure without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. In lightof this, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited tothat of the particular embodiments illustrated and described herein, asthey are merely by way of some examples thereof, but rather, should befully commensurate with that of the claims appended hereafter and theirfunctional equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining a buffer status report (BSR) condition is present based on a condition of an application; determining an uplink grant is not available for the UE to transmit data, related to the application, in a buffer of the UE within a period of time; removing, based at least in part on the BSR condition being present and the uplink grant not being available for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer within the period of time, the data from the buffer; resubmitting, to the buffer, at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer; and transmitting, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at least in part on the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the BSR condition is present based on the condition of the application comprises: determining the application is active based on at least one of an IP tuple, a quality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the BSR condition is present based on the condition of the application comprises: determining the BSR condition is present based on at least one of: the application dropping one or more packets; the application changing a codec; or a failure of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a previous BSR.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the BSR condition is present further comprises: determining the BSR condition is present based on the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity mode and a stand-alone mode.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the BSR condition is present further comprises: determining the BSR condition is present based on the data in the buffer of the UE satisfying a threshold.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing the data from the buffer of the UE comprises: moving at least the portion of the data from the buffer to an application module.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the BSR condition is present further comprises: determining the BSR condition is present based on at least one of: a type of radio access technology (RAT) supported by the BS; a multi-subscriber identity module (multi-SIM) connection mode of the UE; or a condition of one or more sensors associated with the UE.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the at least one of the BSR the or the SR comprises: transmitting, to the BS, a regular BSR.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the regular BSR is further based on a zero to non-zero state change in the buffer resulting from the removing the data from the buffer and the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer.
 10. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; a buffer memory in communication with the processor; and a transceiver in communication with the processor, wherein the user equipment is configured to: determine a buffer status report (BSR) condition is present based on a condition of an application; and determine an uplink grant is not available for the UE to transmit data, related to the application, in the buffer memory of the UE within a period of time; remove, based at least in part on the BSR condition being present and the uplink grant not being available for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer memory within the period of time, the data from the buffer memory; resubmit, to the buffer memory, at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer memory; and transmit, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at least in part on the at least the portion of the data being resubmitted to the buffer memory.
 11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine the BSR condition is present by determining the application is active based on at least one of an IP tuple, a quality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator.
 12. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine the BSR condition is present based on at least one of: the application dropping one or more packets; the application changing a codec; or a failure of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a previous BSR.
 13. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine the BSR condition is present based on the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity mode and a stand-alone mode.
 14. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine the BSR condition is present based on the data in the buffer of the UE satisfying a threshold.
 15. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to: remove the data from the buffer memory by moving at least the portion of the data from the buffer memory to an application module.
 16. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine the BSR condition is present based on at least one of: a type of radio access technology (RAT) supported by the BS; a multi-subscriber identity module (multi-SIM) connection mode of the UE; or a condition of one or more sensors associated with the UE.
 17. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to: transmit, to the BS, a regular BSR.
 18. The UE of claim 17, wherein the UE is further configured to: transmit the regular BSR based on a zero to non-zero state change in the buffer memory resulting from the removing the data from the buffer memory and the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer memory.
 19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the program code comprising: code for causing the UE to determine a buffer status report (BSR) condition is present based on a condition of an application; code for causing the UE to determine an uplink grant is not available for the UE to transmit data, related to the application, in a buffer of the UE within a period of time; code for causing the UE to remove, based at least in part on the BSR condition being present and the uplink grant not being available for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer within the period of time, the data from the buffer; code for causing the UE to resubmit, to the buffer, at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer; and code for causing the UE to transmit, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at least in part on the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the code for causing the UE to determine the BSR condition is present based on the condition of the application comprises: code for causing the UE to determine the application is active based on at least one of an IP tuple, a quality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator.
 21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the code for causing the UE to determine the BSR condition is present based on the condition of the application comprises at least one of: code for causing the UE to determine the BSR condition is present based on the application performing at least one of dropping one or more packets or changing a codec; code for causing the UE to determine the BSR condition is present based on the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity mode and a stand-alone mode; code for causing the UE to determine the BSR condition is present based on the data in the buffer of the UE satisfying a threshold; or code for causing the UE to determine the BSR condition is present based on a failure of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a previous BSR.
 22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the code for causing the UE to remove the data from the buffer of the UE comprises: code for causing the UE to move at least the portion of the data from the buffer to an application module.
 23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the code for causing the UE to transmit the at least one of the BSR the or the SR comprises: code for causing the UE to transmit, to the BS, a regular BSR.
 24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the code for causing the UE to transmit the regular BSR comprises: code for causing the UE to transmit the regular BSR based on a zero to non-zero state change in the buffer resulting from the removing the data from the buffer and the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer.
 25. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for determining a buffer status report (BSR) condition is present based on a condition of an application; means for determining an uplink grant is not available for the UE to transmit data, related to the application, in a buffer of the UE within a period of time; means for removing, based at least in part on the BSR condition being present and the uplink grant not being available for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer within the period of time, the data from the buffer; means for resubmitting, to the buffer, at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer; and means for transmitting, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at least in part on the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer.
 26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the means for determining the BSR condition is present based on the condition of the application comprises: means for determining the application is active based on at least one of an IP tuple, a quality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator.
 27. The UE of claim 25, wherein the means for determining the BSR condition is present based on the condition of the application comprises at least one of: means for determining the BSR condition is present based on the application performing at least one of dropping one or more packets or changing a codec; means for determining the BSR condition is present based on the UE transitioning between a dual connectivity mode and a stand-alone mode; means for determining the BSR condition is present based on the data in the buffer of the UE satisfying a threshold; or means for determining the BSR condition is present based on a failure of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a previous BSR
 28. The UE of claim 63, wherein the means for removing the data from the buffer of the UE comprises: means for moving at least the portion of the data from the buffer to an application module.
 29. The UE of claim 55, wherein the means for transmitting the at least one of the BSR the or the SR comprises: means for transmitting, to the BS, a regular BSR.
 30. The UE of claim 69, wherein the means for transmitting the regular BSR further comprises: means for transmitting the regular BSR based on a zero to non-zero state change in the buffer resulting from the removing the data from the buffer and the resubmitting the at least the portion of the data to the buffer. 